The future of sustainable agriculture is looking brighter each and every day thanks to technological advancements around the world. One such example is our guest today that has pioneered a hydroponic method that allows growing of tomatoes in saltwater. Ryan Lefers is the co-founder of Red Sea Farms located in Saudi Arabia. Ryan grew up on a farm in South Dakota and pursed an agricultural engineering degree. He is now putting his experience to work by doing his part to help develop technologies that help feed the world. In our interview today, Ryan will explain the process of growing plants in saltwater and what the farmer/consumer relationship is like in Saudi Arabia.
Connect with Ryan and Redsea Farms:
Additional Episode Links:
Show Highlights:
- Ryan’s background and growing up in South Dakota
- Starting Red Sea Farms with Prof. Mark Tester
- Feeding the world in challenging environments
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia
- Growing tomatoes in saltwater
- Using water for cooling in greenhouses
- Irrigation systems
- Salinity tolerant crops
- Plants adapting to saltwater
- Agricultural Engineering
- The agriculture industry in Saudi Arabia
- The future of sustainable Agriculture
- The farmer/consumer relationship in Saudi Arabia
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